Wednesday, 16 July 2014

Nasarawa Impeachment: Traditional rulers move to save Al-Makura

The traditional rulers were in the government house to strategise on how to prevail on the lawmakers to drop the charges.

Prominent traditional rulers in Nasarawa State have stepped in to save the state governor, Umaru Al-Makura, from impeachment.

The State House of Assembly on Monday directed its Clerk, Ego Maikeffi, to serve Mr. Al-Makura with the impeachment notice for alleged gross misconduct and misappropriation of funds.

The notice was signed by 20 of the 24 lawmakers in the state during a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Musa Mohammed (PDP-Nasarawa Central) on Monday.

All the lawmakers that signed the notice are members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while the governor and the other four lawmakers are members of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The governor’s elder brother, Ahmadu Al-Makura, who is the Emir of Kwandere, was seen at government house in company of the Emir of Lafia and chairman Nasarawa council of chiefs, Isah Mustapha Agwai, at about 5 p.m. on Monday immediately after the governor returned from the commissioning of the the multi-million Naira rice farm in Doma performed by President Goodluck Jonathan

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the traditional rulers were in the government house to strategise on how to prevail on the lawmakers to drop the charges.

The traditional rulers would also hold meetings with other stakeholders in the state before meeting with the lawmakers.

A security source told PREMIUM TIMES that after the traditional rulers met with the governor, three out of the four APC lawmakers who didn’t sign the impeachment notice had a closed-door meeting with the governor.

The traditional rulers were also said to have advised the governor to begin the implementation of resolutions passed by the Assembly which he failed to do.

Those resolutions include sacking of the state Commissioner for Justice, Innocent Lagi, for jumping the fence to serve lawmakers with a court notice, and sacking of members of the state independent electoral Commission, NASIEC, among others.

When contacted, the chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Information, Baba Ibaku, said he was not aware of any scheduled meeting with traditional rulers.

Mr. Ibaku also said the governor has seven days to reply to the impeachment notice starting from the day he receives it.